TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (June 30, 1995)

CONTENTS

  • [01] DEMIREL LEAVES FOR BSEC SUMMIT

  • [02] DEMIREL WILL VISIT TURKISH REGION IN BULGARIA

  • [03] TRNC PM ATUN: "TURKEY-TRNC DEFENCE COOPERATION ACCORD IS ESSENTIAL"

  • [04] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CURBS ECONOMIC AID TO TURKEY

  • [05] TURKEY AND GREECE EXPRESS RESERVATIONS OVER NATO'S BOSNIA WITHDRAWAL PLAN

  • [06] 14 MILITANTS AND TWO SOLDIERS KILLED

  • [07] TURKEY TO HOST OVER 20 MILLION TOURISTS IN 2005

  • [08] AUGUST ELECTIONS IN EIGHT NEW DISTRICTS

  • [09] FOREIGN RESERVES AT A NEW PEAK

  • [10] ISRAELI AGRICULTURE MINISTER YAKOV TZUR VISITS GAP

  • [11] GREECE SUPPORTS THE PKK

  • [12] ATHENS GETS SLAPPED DOWN

  • [13] PKK'S NEW RELAY STATION SEIZED

  • [14] MASSIVE FIRE DAMAGE

    •

    WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF

    DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    JUNE 30, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish

    press this morning.

    [01] DEMIREL LEAVES FOR BSEC SUMMIT

    President Suleyman Demirel leaves today for Romania to take part in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) summit. The summit will be held between June 30-July 1, and member countries will participate at senior level. "The summit will try to find ways to bring the members' private sectors to the forefront. Decisions to put the organization's international identity on a legal basis will be taken" a press statement from the President's office said. It added that the summit was very timely and that Turkey would do everything in its power to make sure it was a success. The BSEC was founded in 1992 by 11 countries in Istanbul upon Turkey's initiative. The members aim to maximize ways of economic cooperation. Demirel will also engage in bilateral talks with the heads of government of other member states. /Cumhuriyet-Sabah/

    [02] DEMIREL WILL VISIT TURKISH REGION IN BULGARIA

    The visit of Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu to the Bulgarian capital has helped to bring about a more positive atmosphere between the two countries. Sofia will follow a more transparent policy dating from today in connection with the Turkish minority which was the most important problem in the 1980's between Turkey and Bulgaria. President Demirel will also visit Bulgaria on July 4. He will be the first Turkish President to visit the Turkish regions in Bulgaria. Bulgarian President Jelu Jelev held consultations with Erdal Inonu yesterday. In their talks, Jelev brought Demirel's Bulgaria visit up and said "We are looking forward to Mr.Demirel's visit with anticipation." /Hurriyet/

    [03] TRNC PM ATUN: "TURKEY-TRNC DEFENCE COOPERATION ACCORD IS ESSENTIAL"

    Hakki Atun, Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), stated that Nicosia was insistent on signing an accord of defence cooperation with Turkey. Regarding news saying that Turkey guaranteed that it would not object to Southern Cyprus' membership with the EU, Atun said: "This is very dangerous for us". Pointing out that President Rauf Denktas had no competition in the TRNC as leader, Atun added: "He is a really rare expert on Cyprus. There is no one else who knows the Cyprus issue better than him". /Cumhuriyet/

    [04] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CURBS ECONOMIC AID TO TURKEY

    The US House of Representatives approved an amendment to a foreign aid bill yesterday that aims to cut $25 miilion from the economic aid given annually to Turkey. The amendment, which was presented to the House by John Porter, also asks for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Cyprus and permission for the passage of humanitarian aid to Armenia through Turkey as well as decreasing the aid from $46 million to $21 million. The amendment gives the president the flexibility to consider the national interest when deciding on the implementation of its provisions. A total of 218 votes were cast in favour of the amendment and 155 against. The draft foreign aid bill has not yet been debated in the Senate. /All papers/

    [05] TURKEY AND GREECE EXPRESS RESERVATIONS OVER NATO'S BOSNIA WITHDRAWAL PLAN

    Turkey and Greece have expressed reservations over NATO's withdrawal plans from Bosnia because of the dispute between them concerning the issue of Alliance headquarters in the Southern Flank, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Both countries were said to have noted their reservations at Wednesday's meeting of NATO Ambassadors in Brussels when the plan for a possible withdrawal of UN forces from Bosnia was ratified.

    [06] 14 MILITANTS AND TWO SOLDIERS KILLED

    Fourteen militants of the PKK terrorist organization were killed, four captured during military operations in the Southeast and three surrendered. Officials from the State of Emergency said that six militants had been killed in Hakkari's Semdinli district, four in Sirnak's Silopi and Beytussebap districts, three in Tunceli's Nazimiye district and one in Diyarbakir's Kulp district. Two soldiers were killed in action during a clash.

    A PKK militant was captured in Sanliurfa's Akcakale district and the bodies of five militants, one of them female, have been found. The five were killed during military operations between Agri's Cumacayi and Cemce districts. Meanwhile, the Law of Repentance will end on June 7 and notices about this are bring distributed by helicopters in the Southeast. /Hurriyet/

    [07] TURKEY TO HOST OVER 20 MILLION TOURISTS IN 2005

    Officials from the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said that in the year 2005 over 20 million tourists will visit Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. The statistical results, obtained by examining the tourism expenditures, rate of growth and economic situations of various countries, stated that Turkey will be 11th in the list of countries "most popular with tourists" in the 2000s. The results showed that currently US tourists spend the most followed by Germans and Japanese. According to WTO, of all the countries France will have the most tourists visiting it in the 2000s.

    [08] AUGUST ELECTIONS IN EIGHT NEW DISTRICTS

    Some 60,000 voters will cast their ballot on August 6 in municipal elections to be held in the country's eight new districts. Three districts will hold mayoral elections, while all eight will elect municipal councils.

    [09] FOREIGN RESERVES AT A NEW PEAK

    Turkey's foreign currency reserves on June 23 broke yet another record to reach an all-time high of $13.417 billion, up $407 million from a week ago, a statement from the Central Bank said yesterday. It said that on June 9 Turkey's gross international reserves, including gold, were $22.965 billion. Of this $1.383 billion were gold reserves and $8.786 billion foreign currency accounts held by the banks. The Central Bank's foreign currency reserves exceeded the $13 billion mark for the first time on June 16. /Milliyet/

    [10] ISRAELI AGRICULTURE MINISTER YAKOV TZUR VISITS GAP

    Following enhancement of political and military cooperation between Turkey and Israel, steps were also taken for cooperation in agriculture. Israel, which imports meat especially from the South American countries, has agreed to buy beef from Turkey. Issues regarding cooperation in agriculture and purchasing water were taken up at the meetings between the Israeli Agriculture Minister Yakov Tzur and his Turkish counterpart Refaiddin Sahin. During Tzur's visit to Ankara, a memorandum of accord was signed between the two countries on agricultural cooperation also in Central Asia and Caucasia. Tzur and the accompanying Israeli delegation visited the Manavgat -Waterfall- construction site, from where Turkey plans to sell water to interested countries, and the Southeast Anatolian Project (GAP) region. /Cumhuriyet/

    [11] GREECE SUPPORTS THE PKK

    The Greek government has recently started a campaign against Turkey: 1) The Greek Parliament Speaker has gone to Syria and presented the leader of the PKK terrorist organization "Apo" with a Greek state award. 2) Greece has treated the head of the so-called Kurdish Parliament-in-exile, Yasar Kaya in Athens almost as an official guest. 3) The first bureau of the PKK has been opened in Athens. 4) Greece has allowed PKK militants to be trained in Greek territories. The PKK militants who set fire to Turkish forests recently confessed that they had been trained in Greece. Yesterday, three militants were captured who were thought to be the ones who torched the Girne forests in Northern Cyprus. 5) Greece has signed an agreement for defence cooperation with Syria which wants to corner Turkey. With this agreement, Syria has opened its Mediterranean military bases to Greek airplanes. The Greek airplanes deployed at these bases will be able to arrive on Cyprus within one hour in case of a Turkish-Greek Cypriot war. Greece, which armed its islands close to Turkish coasts during the last year, began to increase its armament efforts in the Southern Cyprus in recent months. Reacting to these provocations, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel said: "I wrote a letter to the Greek President. `We are neighbours. You support these people. This is shameful'. The Greek President absolutely denied this. However, you all know that Greece shelters these people". /Sabah/

    [12] ATHENS GETS SLAPPED DOWN

    France and Spain have invited Turkey to an EU summit in December despite Greek opposition. In a press conference yesterday, a Greek journalist asked: "Chirac's attitude over Turkey at the Cannes summit caused strong reactions in Greece. What is your opinion?, French Foreign Minister Herve de Charrette said: "We have to accept that Turkey is a great country. Turkey will be a real partner of Europe. problems, the irritating atmosphere should be solved. We, as the EU, are ready to contribute to a positive solution. There is no pressure group against Greece in Europe. It is very easy to note one of our EU member countries' faults in a friendly way". It is reported in some Western political circles that real support for Turkey's full membership started in the EU during Chirac's term. /Sabah/

    [13] PKK'S NEW RELAY STATION SEIZED

    Working in close cooperation, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the General Directorate of Security, units have seized a wireless relay station destined for the Amanos mountains near the Mediterranean province of Hatay. The relay station was reportedly to be used for communications purposes by the PKK terrorist organization, which is conducting a violent separatist campaign in Southeast Anatolia and was said to have been smuggled into the country from Germany. /Sabah/

    [14] MASSIVE FIRE DAMAGE

    It has been stated that incendiaries set fire to the forests in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) which have been burning for three days and that three PKK sympathizans have been arrested. As the three suspects were on the way to court yesterday, two of whom are said to be from Mersin, local citizens tried to lynch them. Twenty-seven people of foreign origin have been arrested for illegal entering the TRNC, and the people of Nicosia have demanded that the government should resign if it cannot find and arrest the people who started the devastating fires. Approximately 7,000 hectares including pine, olive, carob, cypress trees and scrubland have been devastated by the fire. Physical damage is being estimated at around TL 2 trillion. The fire, which has been brought under control in the West with the help of Turkish tanker aircrafts used for air-to-air refueling, is still raging along the nothern and southern slopes of the Besparmak mountains. Helicopters from British military bases, vehicles of the United Nations (UN) Peace Forces, Turkish units and villagers are participating in extinguishing the blaze. Three houses were burned out yesterday to the east of Girne and many animals perished. 11 villages to the east of Girne have been evacuated. The possibility of the fire going towards Nicosia through the Besparmak mountains following a change in the direction of the wind is causing anxiety. The fire has started a "letter diplomacy" between TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Glafkos Klerides, the Greek Cypriot community leader. Returning to the island from the Cannes summit meeting, Klerides noted: "The Greek Cypriots are ready to provide every kind of help. They are Cyprus forests that are burning. Therefore the Turkish side cannot prevent our participation in extinguishing the fires. The ecological structure is perishing on the Besparmak mountains. My letter is from one Cypriot to another. Cyprus is our island." President Demirel arrived in Cyprus yesterday in order to console the TRNC people facing the fire disaster. Demirel is the first Turkish President to visit the island. It is also the first time that Demirel has visited the island during his political life. Hikmet Cetin, Deputy Prime Minister, Baki Atac, state minister responsible for Cyprus Affairs, Ahmet Corekci, army commander second Chief-of-Staff and Kemal Demir, chairman of the Turkish Red Crescent accompanied Demirel in his visit. Demirel joined in investigations flying in with helicopters to the fire region with the Turkish delegation and TRNC President Rauf Denktas, and advised Kemal Demir, the chairman of the Turkish Red Crescent to sent TL 10 billion to the TRNC Red Crescent. Bulent Ecevit, chairman of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and his wife Rahsan Ecevit also will go to Cyprus today. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/

    END

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
    news2html v2.09c run on Tuesday, 4 July 1995 - 23:03:36